Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sports Network) - After dropping the first set
in stunning fashion, reigning champion and five-time titlist Roger Federer
roared back to win his opening-round match at the $1.785 Dubai Tennis
Championships.
The second-seeded Swiss icon lost the first set to Tunisian wild card Malek
Jaziri before rebounding for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 victory on the hardcourts at
Dubai Tennis Stadium, where former women's Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova
captured a WTA title last week.
"It important to sort of react and make sure I didn't panic," said Federer.
"But, of course your mind starts to wander, especially in a match where there
is hardly any rallies. He's going for broke on every return. All you're trying
to do is get into some rallies, and you're missing a lot yourself.
"It was a difficult match for me out here tonight, but I'm happy I found a way
and got a day off now so I can work a little bit on the game. Just maybe the
pressure is off a little bit, and then automatically I will play a lot better
in the second round."
The Wimbledon champion Federer, a seven-time Dubai finalist, beat U.S. Open
champ Andy Murray in last year's marquee Dubai finale.
In other action involving seeds, No. 7 Andreas Seppi of Italy topped France's
Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 7-5 and No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia overcame
Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Youzhny was a Dubai finalist in 2007 and
2010.
Additional Day-1 wins came for Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman, German
qualifier Daniel Brands, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, and Czech Lukas
Rosol.
The first round will conclude on Tuesday, including matches for world No. 1
star Novak Djokovic, third-seeded Tomas Berdych, fourth seed Juan Martin del
Potro, and last week's Marseille titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who upended
Berdych in a three-set final thriller in France.
The Australian Open champion Djokovic is a three-time Dubai winner (2009-11).
The Sports Network